Twenty Clove Garlic Lemon Chicken

Last night SP came over for the weekend. We still don't feel great, leftover cold symptoms, so I made dinner at home.

This recipe is one of my favorites. I thawed a whole, cut up chicken. In a large sauce pan I heated 2 1/2 c. of chicken stock to a boil and added 20 cloves of garlic, minced and the zest of one lemon, chopped fine. I reduced the heat and simmered, covered, for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, I pan seared the chicken in a bit of canola and butter. I used two pans so as not to crowd the chicken, and I had the heat on medium-high. I made sure each side of the chicken pieces had that caramelly brown goodness before removing them to a caserole sprayed with Crisco spray. (You don't want the chicken to be done, just browned nicely on all sides on the outside.)

I then took the lemon I previously zested, peeled it entirely of all the rind and pith and then sliced it thinly, gently removing any seeds. I layered the lemon pieces onto the seared chicken pieces in the casserole.

In my two searing pans, I kept the bits nice and warm and then added a dusting of flour and whisked the bottom of the pans to get the bits nice and mixed in with the roux...but I only let them brown slighly. Then I added about 1/3 c. of white wine (divided between the two pans) to deglace the pans (this releases all the brown, tasty stuff off the bottom) and I let that come to a boil for a second, then I added in equal parts the chicken stock with the garlic in it and let that come to a boil for a second.

I poured the gravy mixture out of both pans into the casserole, fully coating all the chicken pieces. The oven had been preheated to 375 degrees, and I popped the casserole, uncovered, into the oven for 45 minutes until the chicken had a nice, brown look and the meat was falling off the bone.

While that was baking, I peeled an armful of potatoes and cut them up into salted water and brought them to a boil for mashed. When they were fork tender, I drained them, then added about 1/3 stick of butter and let that melt a bit and then used a hand masher to mash the potatoes entirely. This way they take up the butter flavor before you add milk or dairy. I then added about 2 T. of sour cream and a dash of skim milk. I prefer some type of cream in mashed potatoes so you avoid the wallpaper paste type potato. The cream keeps them creamy even after a day in the frig as leftovers, and SP said they were yummier than most mashed he's had.

I tossed a bag of frozen sugar snap peas into the microwave for 5-6 minutes and then served them on the side. It was a nice meal and it was cheap...and we didn't have to brave the sub freezing temperatures with our runny noses and coughs. We found You've Got Mail on Oxygen and snuggled up under flannel sheets with full tummies, though SP did have some chocolate cookies for dessert.

Try this one, you'll like it!